Tag: another spirit

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” (I Timothy 4:1)

In this verse Paul is warning Timothy and us that in the last days, many would fall away paying attention to deceitful or seducing evil spirits and doctrines of demons. In verse 2, Paul tells us that the source of false doctrine is the demons, satan’s servants, who actuate the false teachers in society and in the church. In 2 Corinthians 11 he warns us about another Jesus, another spirit instead of the Holy Spirit and another gospel. This why we are told to examine everything in light of the word of God (Bible) and hold to that which is true. Today, as it was in Paul’s day, there is much deception leading people to eternal destruction.

Here are some doctrines of demons that characterize the days we live in. Thank you to The Kingdom of the Occult (Walter Martin) for points 1-5.

1. Jesus is a way to salvation but not the way.

All roads, or all religions, lead to God. We hear this lie frequently. Sometimes from leaders of world-wide religions, Hollywood personalities, wolves in sheep clothing, and others, but there is only one way to God. Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

2. Deny that Jesus Christ is truly God in human flesh.

The Apostle John told us how to judge the spirits. “By this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming, and now it is already in the world. (I John 4: 2-3)

3. A person can obtain information from sources other than God and that this secret knowledge is reliable.

This is why God drove out the Canaanite nations before Israel, in the Old Testament. He gave His people strict instructions concerning these “other sources” which are actually demons. He feels the same today as He did then. He has not changed His mind.

“When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you….For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so. (Deut 18: 9-12, 14) (emphasis mine)

4. Okay to explore or play with supernatural powers other than God.

One of the most successful demonic strategies is absorption —- playing with something you cannot control (Martin). Paul warns us not to give place to the devil, from which he can advance in our life.

“…and do not give the devil an opportunity…” (Ephesians 4: 27)

5. Equates mythology with the truth.

At the beginning of the church, mythology was weaved into every aspect of life. As I understand it, mythology is making a come back today, even in the visible church. One of the early church defenders of the Faith was a Greek known as Justin Martyr, who was a student of philosophy (wisdom). He knew all about the pagan gods associated with Greek mythology. After becoming a Christian in 132 AD, he wrote The Discourse To The Greeks upbraiding the Greeks concerning their customs and false gods, challenging them to come to the true God. If you are interested in what a person who was raised under such demonic deception has to say about mythology, his discourse can be found here.

6. You are a God, can become a God or that everyone, including the lost man, has God dwelling in them.

Anytime you hear this kind of teaching, know that it originated with the demons. According to the Bible, the only people with God in them today is the born again believers who have the indwelling Holy Spirit “who is given as a pledge of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14). The born again believer is not God and never will become God. There is only One True God. The other night one of the travel channels was talking about a famous far eastern poet who looked for God in the synagogue, then the mosque, and then the church. Only to find out that he was already in his heart. That is deception. Until a man comes to Christ as Lord and Saviour, he is ruled by forces of darkness and the vanity of his mind. God is not in him. Another example of this lie would be Mormonism, which teaches that the Mormon man will become a god on his own planet.

7. All supernatural entities and visions are good and from God.

Billions of sincere people have been deceived by demons masquerading as deceased loved ones, deceased Christians, and other individuals. Demons impersonating dead people is one reason God forbids His people to have any communication with the dead, even supposedly Christian dead. The saved people are in heaven and can not leave. The lost people are in the place of torment and can not leave. See Luke 16: 19 – 31. The dead are not ghosts wandering around in the atmosphere. The scripture says, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,…” (Hebrew 9: 27) When you die you go to either heaven or hell and that is where you stay until the Judgement Seat of Christ (Romans 14: 10 – 12) which is for believers or the Great White Throne Judgement (Revelation 20:11-15), which is for those who have rejected Christ. There is no middle ground.

8. You shall surely not die.

God told Adam that the day He ate from the tree in the garden he would surely die. The serpent told Eve that “you will surely not die”. He beguiled her into believing that God was a liar and could not be trusted. She and Adam did die. They died spiritually RIGHT THEN and later died physically. And the creation has been engulfed in misery and darkness every since. That is why King Jesus told the Jewish teacher that he MUST be born again (spiritually) in John 3 to see and enter the Kingdom of God.

Demonic teachings cast doubt on the character of the Living God. They make God out to be a liar and the word of God unreliable. Their judgement comes and will not delay.

9. To connect with God make your mind passive.

We are told to renew our minds in Romans 12: 1-2. An unrenewed mind dwells in ignorance and darkness and is still controlled by the lies and deceptions that have been admitted to the mind. That is why a new Christian’s mind needs to be renewed by God’s truth. A passive or blank mind is an open door to the powers of darkness. NEVER EVER do this, even if it is for a “Christian” exercise such as contemplative prayer. Not in yoga, even Christian yoga, or transcendental mediation. Couple a passive mind with number 7 above and that is where you’ll be deceived. More on this later.

2 Corinthians 11: 3-4 tells us that demons try to lead us away from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ using ANOTHER JESUS, a DIFFERENT SPIRIT than the Holy Spirit, and a DIFFERENT GOSPEL, a different way to God. They were there in Paul’s day and they are here today.

Do not be deceived Brethren. Renew your mind, be led by His Holy Spirit and His Word. Walk humbly before your God, walk in His light and lean not on your own understanding.

If the demons are trying to put fear on you even now after reading this, remember that “…Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (I John 4:4) And that Jesus prayed to the Father for you in John 17: 15 “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4: 7).

May He richly illuminate the eyes of our hearts so that we walk in a manner worthy of Him, pleasing Him in all respects. Thank you for your time.

The Only Way The Christian Life Can Be Lived

“And they who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the evil nature with its dispositions and cravings once for all. In view of the fact that we are being sustained in spiritual life by the Spirit, by means of the Spirit let us go on ordering our conduct. Let us stop becoming vain-glorious, provoking one another, envying one another.”

“For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision but a new creation. And as many as by this rule are ordering their conduct, peace be upon them, and mercy, even upon the Israel of God.”